Till Darkness Falls
by LilyoftheValley4
Summary: After Michael Vaughn finds his wife, Lauren Reed, dead in their home, the CIA investigates and has one prime suspect...Sydney Bristow.
1. Prologue

A/N: Okay, okay, I know I have at least two other stories going on, but I couldn't resist starting another one. This idea came to me and I had to get it down. Anywho, I hope you enjoy.

Spoilers: None as of now. This story will pretty much run unconnected with the show.

Michael Vaughn closed his front door and threw his keys onto the small wooden table located to the right of the entryway. With a tired sigh he took off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch as he walked through the living room. The days mail was sitting on the dinning room table. He riffled through the contents and after finding nothing of interest; he left the mail in a slight order of disarray. 

            "Lauren? Are you home?" He had expected his wife to be in the kitchen or den, but both rooms were empty and untouched. Her car was in the garage, but that didn't mean she hadn't decided to go for a run and there was still the possibility that she was in the shower or taking a bath.

            He headed up the stairs off of the kitchen and walked into their small walk-in closet as he removed his dress shirt and pants looking for something more comfortable. When he was dressed in a pair of sweats, an item of clothing he never wore anywhere but at home, he headed towards the bedroom. The door itself was partly closed, which was odd since the two of them were always in a hurry in the morning and never made a point to close the door. 

            Vaughn stepped up to the door and knocked softy, calling out Lauren's name. When there was no answer Vaughn decided to enter but he pushed it open slowly. The slow movement allowed him to see her piece-by-piece. First her shoes connected to legs slightly spread across the carpet. Then her black skirt and white turtleneck shirt outlined with a black vest and finally her face. Her eyes were closed and her hair flowed out on the right side of her body. She lay on her right side that caused a small pool of blood to darken her sweater and form a puddle on the floor. 

            Vaughn practically leapt to her side as he checked anxiously for a pulse, but there was none. With shaky hands he called for an ambulance and then went back to her side. He placed his hands over her wound at her heart and began to simultaneously do compressions, even though he knew they would do no good. He face was pale and translucent and her lips as pale a blue as the sky.

            He felt his forehead sweat in concentration as his eyes began to water in tears he wouldn't allow to fall. 

            "Come on, Lauren," he whispered. "Come on." His heart thumped rapidly when hers remained silent. Despite his efforts she remained unresponsive, but he kept up the motions till the paramedics pushed him aside. He watched as she was briefly examined before being put on a stretcher, a white sheet placed over her body. 

            CIA agents and forensics officials combed the house as Vaughn followed the stretcher to the ambulance. The EMT's pushed him back as the doors to the ambulance were slammed closed; the same doors that slammed shut over his heart. 


	2. Realizations and Accusations

A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated this piece, but I've been so busy! But Spring Break's coming up, so I'm hoping that I'll get to update this one, and Hold the Door for Me in due time. Thank you all for the reviews!

Chapter 1

            The house creaked with every soft blow of the California breeze. Vaughn had never realized how loud it was before. Maybe it was the fact that he had never stopped during his busy schedule to listen, but most likely it was because of how he noticed so many different things since he no longer waited for the clicking of Lauren's shoes on the foyer's hard wood floor.

            The days were cold and long while the nights were lonely as the bed now sat unbalanced. It was funny how her absence left him cold and empty but not so to the point of pain that he had endured when he'd though Sydney had disappeared from his life. He felt as if he was mourning a distant friend whom he had not seen in some time, and some days it was true, he hardly saw his wife, but to think of Lauren in such an informal manner upset him. The last few months, at least since Sydney's return, things had changed between the two of them, and he felt responsible for the distance that had been created and separated both their lives.

            So there he sat, moping around the house. A dark five o'clock shadow darkened his face almost to beard quality, which was a status he normally never allowed his facial hair to reach the point of. Dark circles hollowed his eyes from restless nights, and a sort of greasy texture clung to his hair from many days of forgotten showers making it look gelled. Blue jeans had been the first pants he pulled out of his drawer since that night, and he's hardly removed them since. A thin white tee shirt, almost see-through from so many washes, clung to his chest. This was the man he remained for a week. 

            He didn't get up to pick up the mail that bore the family name; he only ate when he felt sick to his stomach, and he watched the TV with no recollection of what show he was watching or who they were talking about. He missed Lauren and he was hoping to find the son of a bitch who killed her. He became overwhelmed by the same emotions he was sure had suffocated Dixon when he had watched his wife die. Vaughn understood now more then than he had before of why Dixon had reacted the way he did and that's when Vaughn began to think of Sydney.

            He remembered in the debriefing what she had wrote about her would-be fiancé, Danny Hecht. She knew SD-6 had him killed, but she went into the office every day pretending she was still loyal while in the meantime she was quietly seeking her own revenge. That was the attitude Vaughn decided that he himself should take, otherwise he would find any ridiculously bold actions endangering his life and possibly others.

            Suddenly an incessant ringing cut into his thoughts, and Vaughn clumsily reached for the phone and answered in a weary manner. 

            "Hey, Mike, it's Weiss." Vaughn nodded invisibly to Weiss and waited for his friend to continue. "Look, we've been doing some analysis on the evidence found in your apartment, and well, we think you should come down here."

            Vaughn felt himself lean forward in his seat. "Why?"

            "The evidence is—to put it lightly—confusing," Weiss said avoiding the question.

            "Weiss," Vaughn said, his voice rising slightly, "if you know who killed Lauren, I'd appreciate it if you'd spit it out."

            Weiss sighed. "Okay, but before I say anything let me tell you that Sydney's been on a mission all this time—"

            "Sydney? What does this have to do with Sydney?"

            "Fingerprints on the front door and on the bedroom door knob all belong to Sydney. A few strands of brown hair were also found at the scene and DNA strands reveal that they belong to Sydney as well." Weiss paused waiting for Vaughn to explain why Sydney could have been there. Weiss hoped that Sydney had been there on some night before the murder or he even hoped that Vaughn would say that they were having an affair, any excuse that would have given Sydney a good reason to be in Vaughn's house, but Vaughn didn't say a word.

            Weiss heard Vaughn breath in deeply and slowly before he softly murmured that he would be there in fifteen minutes.

* * * 

            Vaughn arrived at the Joint Task Force Center with wet hair and a slightly rumpled suit. Weiss greeted him almost immediately and informed him that a meeting was to take place shortly in the conference room. Vaughn and Weiss strode into the room and took a seat at the c-shaped table that surrounded Dixon, who stood amicably dressed at the front of the room. Jack and Marshall were already seated, and to Vaughn's surprise so was Kendall. Also seated were three men Vaughn didn't recognize. 

            "Let's begin," Dixon said once they were seated. "I would like to start out by saying how sorry we are for your loss, Agent Vaughn. Mrs. Reed was a great asset to this agency, and she will be missed." Vaughn nodded his thanks and Dixon continued. "Joining us today are Director Ryan Miles from the NSA, Director Kevin Legend from the FBI, and Director Thomas Appleton from the CIA. These three men will be assisting us in the investigation," Dixon explained as he introduced each man.  

"New evidence has arisen in the investigation of Mrs. Reed's death," Dixon announced. "DNA and fingerprints reveal that Agent Sydney Bristow was at the scene. Agent Vaughn, do you have any comments on the source of this evidence?"

Vaughn stood up and faced the group; especially the three men who had pens poised and seemed prepared to take detailed notes. "I cannot explain the presence of those stated items, but I am emphasizing clearly right now that I believe Agent Bristow to be innocent of any and all charges." Vaughn sat down conclusively but felt confusion towards the grim expression on Dixon's face.

Dixon addressed his audience as if Vaughn had not said a word. He picked up his right hand that had been dangling at his side and pointed it at the large television screen behind him. The image duplicated itself on every screen in front of each member of the group.

"This is camera footage taken from LAX airport. As you can see, it features Agent Bristow boarding the plane for her in mission in Lexington, Germany at 6:51 am in the morning of the murder." 

Dixon reached behind him and passed a portfolio to each person at the table. Vaughn opened it curiously and found a picture of Julia Thorne staring him back in the face. A short history was given in the folder as well as the fact that this woman in reality was Sydney Bristow. A colored picture of Sydney was also placed in the folder with her naturally colored hair.

"If you look in the back of the folder you'll see two photocopies." Vaughn found the last two copies and read them in surprise as he waited for Dixon to offer some explanation 

"These photocopies are records of a boarding pass for a return flight from Germany to LAX under the name Julia Thorne. Her plane landed at 5:30 pm, an hour before the predicted murder time. Video footage at LAX confirms Agent Bristow's arrival. Camera surveillance also shows Agent Bristow boarding another plane for Germany at 7:30 pm. Once again the name on the boarding pass is under Julia Thorne." 

Dixon let this information sink in before he nodded towards Marshall who stood up quickly and nervously. 

"Director Dixon asked me to uh…analyze the camera footage to look for any sign of doctored footage. I'm actually not finished with all the tape, but as of now, to me the footage is real. Unless of course whoever we're dealing with has such sophisticated technology as to interrupt the camera feed and are able to see to no repetitive gaps and somehow include a moving walking and talking figure well enough for the CIA database to believe it's a particular person. Now I myself think such technology at this point in time is unheard of. Maybe some time in the future, but not now…"

"Thank you, Marshall," Dixon interrupted as Marshall hesitantly took his seat. "Agent Vaughn, I must repeat my first question in order to make sure that the present evidence had not changed your mind."

Vaughn was stunned. He in no way shape or form could believe Sydney would go to such lengths to kill anyone. After all, she had never ever participated in a real act of premeditated murder, and to her credit, everything seemed too perfect. She wouldn't have so sloppily forgotten gloves or appeared so visibly on airport security cameras. He had to believe that she was innocent, because she had never ever given him a reason not to trust her.

"Before Agent Vaughn answers," Jack Bristow said, speaking up for the first time. "I would like to emphasize the fact that Agent Bristow has not made contact on the appointed days, which gives us reason to believe she may be in trouble. Meanwhile, we're sitting here arguing over unreliable evidence. The footage I believe was a ploy. Sydney Bristow has never done a single thing to present disloyalty towards this agency, and we have no reason to believe that now. After all, there is no real motive for agent Bristow to kill Mrs. Reed."

"On the contrary, Mr. Bristow," Agent Appleton spoke up. "Agent Bristow's file reports on possible miss conduct between Agent Bristow and Agent Vaughn before her disappearance. If that's true, Agent Bristow has a jealously motive towards Agent Reed. Also, Agent Bristow's inability to check in could possibly be the result of her going into hiding."

"If she was going into hiding she would not leave such a clear trail to be followed by," Vaughn pointed out.

"Unless she wanted to throw us off."

"You're stretching it," Vaughn said heatedly.

"Agent Bristow is clever, she's proved that on an abundant amount of times. Throwing us off the trail would not be above her. Besides, we still have no confirmation that she is even still in Germany," Agent Appleton argued.

Vaughn stood up angrily. "You've read over Sydney's file and you think you're an expert don't you? Well I'll tell you something. Sydney Bristow would never kill a fellow CIA agent because she was hurt, angry, or jealous. If she hasn't called in, then I'm sure it's for a good reason." Vaughn breathed deeply before continuing. "Look I want to find out who killed my wife, don't get me wrong, but I think you're looking in the wrong direction. When you hear Sydney's side of the story you'll realize what a mistake you've made. Until then, I suggest you start working on trying to figure out why Agent Bristow isn't here to make her testimony, and looking for realistic suspects."

Dixon glanced at Vaughn proudly and then checked to see if the three investigation agents had any more questions. They shook their heads and Dixon concluded the meeting.

Vaughn left the meeting feeling confused, but any moment he could have had with his thoughts was interrupted when Jack Bristow's voice halted him in his spot. Vaughn was tired and he rubbed his head visibly to show it. He didn't know what Jack wanted, but for the most part it was never good. 

"Agent Vaughn," Jack began, having finally caught up with Vaughn. "I just wanted you to know that I—I'm sorry for your loss."

Vaughn's eyes widened in surprise a little at Jack's comment, but he managed to thank him. Jack gave him one of his crisp nods before walking away and Vaughn fell tiredly into his desk chair. Apparently Jack's brief period of sympathy was more thanks for taking up the case in Sydney's defiance rather than actually concern for his well-being in relation to his wife's death, and at that moment that's all he needed.

Vaughn fell into his chair, his head held the weight of his hands. When did things become so complicated? It was hard enough trying to except that his wife was dead, but for the CIA to have Sydney under suspicion while she was missing in action was too much. Slowly, Vaughn rose from his chair, with no other planned destination other than home. 

"Hey man, do you want to go to lunch?" Weiss asked when he saw his friend grab his coat.

"No, I just want to go home," Vaughn said as he walked away from his friend. 

"We can talk if you want," Weiss implored but Vaughn shook his head.

"Just call me if you hear anything about Syd."

"Will do."

* * *

3 Hours Later

            "Director Dixon, Sir! Sorry I didn't knock, but I felt this was important. Not that what you're doing isn't important, but I thought you'd want to know, " Marshall said breathlessly as he entered the office.

            Dixon stifled a laugh against Marshall's bumbling. It was so funny how nervous Marshall got, even when he was back working for SD-6 it's amazing how many times Dixon managed to swallow his laughter into a faint smile, but this time the word "important" caught the Director's ear and forced him to focus. "What's wrong, Marshall?"

            "Nothing's wrong exactly. Actually it's good news—well sort of. For you and me it's good news, but I don't know about Sydney. What's going to happen to her? She's not going to be hurt right? I mean she's innocent of all charges—" 

            "Marshall, what do you have to tell me?" Dixon demanded.

            "Sydney—I mean Agent Bristow—has just checked in. She made the call shortly after take-off from her return flight."

            "Good, what's her ETA?" 

            "My guess is that she should be landing at LAX at about 6:34 p.m. give or take a few minutes. You never know when a plane's going to meet up with turbulence. I hate flying. I don't know how Syd—" 

            "Thank you, Marshall," Dixon interrupted. 

            "It was no problem, just doing my job," Marshall said with a slight shrug as he headed nervously towards the door, knocking a folder of papers on Dixon's desk to the floor while doing so. "Sorry, I'll just pick these up."

            "Marshall, I need you to do one more thing for me." Marshall set the folder on his desk and looked and Dixon earnestly.

            "Sure, what is it?"

            "You must keep Sydney's arrival a secret. I don't want the committee finding out about Sydney's arrival yet. I need to talk with her first," Dixon requested.

            "Uh, sure, yeah I can do that but—"

            "Don't worry you won't suffer any blame. These are my orders."

            Marshall gave Dixon a relieved smile before hurrying out of the office.

* * *

One Hour Later

"You do not have the right to not inform me about Agent Bristow's phone call!" Director Appleton yelled as he stood in front of Director Dixon.

"Agent Bristow is under suspicion, against the better judgment of this agency, not under arrest. She is free to do as she pleases," Dixon answered calmly.

"Agent Bristow is more than under suspicion for murder. Any of her actions could compromise the agency. She murdered a CIA agent; she has shown no limits to achieving whatever goal she wants, and as head of the investigation committee, and as a non-bias Director, I will be deciding who should be doing what. I should not have to back trail through aliases in the hope the one of them belongs to Sydney Bristow and is currently active!" Director Appleton said angrily.

"As the director of this agency, Sydney Bristow is under my charge. She has committed no crime that the committee can prove. She has the freedom of any other civilian in those country—"

"Not anymore," Agent Appleton broke in. He ruffled through a folder he was holding and pulled out a piece of paper smugly. He handed the paper to Dixon but summarized it allowed. "It's a warrant for arrest from Langley. Agent Bristow will be questioned thoroughly by the committee and they will all be answered satisfactorily. All her rights have been wavered because Agent Bristow proves a threat to this country. After all, we can't tell whether or not this was a random shooting. It's possible she may have a bigger target in mind, but Washington doesn't plan on waiting to find out."

"These are faulty grounds for you to be treading on," Dixon growled.

"Faulty? Hardly! You presented the evidence for yourself in this case to other members of this office! Langley thinks with what we have, we should have asked for a warrant within a few hours of the shooting. Your girl has a lot of explaining to do, and it's about time you cooperate with us or at least give us some real evidence to her innocence." 

Dixon's eyes burned fire. "Get out."

Appleton looked as if he was about to comply, but he hesitated before the knob. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy, Agent Dixon, but you're leaving me dry here. I can't explain to the court that this girl would never hurt her country because she has a nice personality. Even the good ones go bad, Agent Dixon. If we could explain why, we'd have a hell of a lot less murders and rapists out there."

"Get out, now." Appleton nodded this time and finally closed the door.

6:35 p.m.

            Sydney smoothed down her black skirt anxiously as she hurriedly walked down the terminal. She needed to get to the JTF immediately. It was essential that she talked to Vaughn right away. However, the sight of three men in black suits walking towards her immediately caught her attention. A quick glance to either side of her revealed two men in suits as well. She stopped in the middle of the terminal, not finding them particularly threatening, for the suits were typical CIA issue, but she was thoroughly confused as to why they were there. 

            When the men finally stopped in a complete circle around her she began firing off her questions. "Who are you? What's this about?"

            "Agent Bristow, you're under arrest for the murder of Lauren Reed. We would appreciate it if you came with us quietly."

            "What?" Sydney asked in surprise. "Lauren Reed isn't dead! I need to talk to Agent Vaughn now!"

            "That is not possible at the moment. We need you to come with us."

            "Not until I speak with Agent Vaughn!" 

            One of them looked towards another. "Come with us, Agent Bristow, and we'll take you to see Agent Vaughn." Sydney was doubtful that it was their intention to let her talk to anyone, but she saw no way out of the situation without making a huge commotion. She nodded silently and grudgingly followed them through the terminal and out to an awaiting car.


End file.
